Arena Profile: Rep. Peter King

Congressman Peter T. King, a Republican, is serving his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. King is Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee and also serves on the Financial Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman King has been a leader in the ongoing effort to have Homeland Security funding based on threat analysis and is a strong supporter of the war against international terrorism, both at home and abroad. As Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee he brought about vital legislation regarding port security and chemical plant security. In this Congress he has led the effort to restore funding to the Secure the Cities Program to protect the New York-Long Island region from nuclear dirty bomb attacks.

Rep. King is a strong supporter of our military and has fought hard to bring veterans’ benefits into the 21st century. Congressman King has been a consistent leader in the fight against illegal immigration and a strong supporter of funding to combat deadly illnesses such as breast cancer and prostate cancer. He has also received the AARP’s Legislative Leadership Award for combating elder abuse and exploitation.

During his years in Congress, Rep. King has attained a reputation for being well-informed and independent. The New York Daily News has said that “Pete King is as knowledgeable as they come about terrorism and the need for emergency preparedness,” while the New York Post has credited Rep. King as being “smart and solid and a long time student of terrorism and homeland security matters.” Even Newsday has admitted that Congressman King is a “stand-up guy who isn’t shy about tangling with the powerful, even those in his own party. King has become a national figure who delivers for the region and his district.”

Prior to serving in Congress, Pete King was elected to three terms as the Comptroller of Nassau County. Before serving in county government, Rep. King had extensive experience as a practicing attorney and civic leader. He began his political career in November 1977 by winning election to the Hempstead Town Council.
Peter T. King was born on April 5, 1944 and is a graduate of St. Francis College, Brooklyn, and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a lifelong resident of New York and has lived in Nassau County for more than 40 years. Rep. King and his wife, Rosemary, reside in Seaford. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.

(Photo and bio courtesy of Arena contributors)

Rep. Peter King's Recent Discussions

Cuts to Social Security and defense politically viable?

(Interview with POLITICO’s Seung Min Kim)

Jerry and I are friends, but he’s entirely wrong on this. There would’ve been lives lost, and Bush deserves credit for what he did.

I think Bush should get a medal for the actions he took. He saved many, many lives, and demonstrated common sense and resolve. I fully support what he did.

To me, what he did was the right thing to do, but also the moral thing to do in that – to me – it makes much more sense to hold someone’s head underwater than it is to be self-righteous. If we had captured [Sept. 11 mastermind] Mohamed Atta on Sept. 10, 2001 and we knew massive attacks were going to be carried out, or we had the option of waterboarding Mohamed Atta, we could’ve saved 3,000 lives.

Or we could be self-righteous and allow 3,000 people to die.

I would challenge anyone in that situation to go to the wake or memorial service [of Sept. 11 victims] and be willing to say, ‘Your son or daughter burned to death, but don’t worry, because we didn’t use waterboarding.’”

I can’t go into details, but look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. There’s no doubt. It was done only three times; I think we should’ve done more. And there was no harm done. In the big picture, to hold someone’s head underwater, the chance of permanent damage is minimal and the rewards are great.

I’ve seen [Bush] once since he left office, on Feb. 28 or March 1 or something of this year, and I spent a half hour alone with him. Basically, his attitude is that no one’s going to know whether he did the right thing or the wrong thing, so he’s not going to worry about it. He is not obsessed with his image.

The unemployment benefits spat: Who will blink?

And Palin 'refudiating' NYC mosque

(Interview with POLITICO's Seung Min Kim)

To me, it’s inappropriate and insensitive. The right thing would be not to construct it. The wounds are so raw. There also needs to be an investigation of funding that’s coming in, an investigation into the imam [Faisel Abdul Rauf] heading up the mosque.

I have probably about 150 constituents, friends, neighbors, who were killed on Sept. 11 and I believe that it’s an obligation to those families to find out who’s exactly behind this mosque. This imam is presenting himself as a voice of moderation. That’s one of the reasons there needs to be an investigation. [The imam] says he’s moderate, he’s for bridge-building, but I don’t think he is what he says who he is.

Did "big brother" work in Times Square? Will familiar post 9/11 partisanship over national security soon break out?

(Interview with POLITICO's Seung Min Kim)

(On the administration’s response to the attempted attack)

“I think they’ve done all they can. Primarily right now, it’s the NYPD and the FBI. I was talking to the Homeland Security department yesterday, and I have no reason to criticize them. There’s nothing they should’ve done, there’s nothing they haven’t done.”

“I’m satisfied. I was very critical of DHS at the time of the Christmas bombing but no, on this, they did everything they could do.”

(On the Obama administration cutting funding for Securing the Cities, a program that set up radiation detectors in New York in case of a dirty bomb)

“To me, we never get enough funding. In New York, we are clearly the number one terrorist target in the country … [administration officials] say there’s money in the pipeline, but the only reason there’s money in the pipeline is because it’s been slow moving. (Securing the Cities) just one glaring example of how New York has been shortchanged.”

(On his reaction to the attempted bombing and potential causes)

“It seems that every several months, you have to expect there is going to be a terrorist incident or that there could be a terrorist incident somewhere. Right away, you’re thinking, what are the consequences, is this the first part of a larger attack, is it coordinated, or a lone wolf?”

“It’s still too early to rule anything in or out, but it certainly looks like it was not coordinated from overseas. There doesn’t seem to be any intelligence or chatter coming in from overseas that would indicate that. As far as here, it could be a lone wolf, or it could be an Al Qaeda supporter group. You can’t rule anything out.”

“The fact that the vehicle was located near the Viacom building, and it happened after the hostile remarks [against] ‘South Park’ in the last few weeks because of their depiction of Muhammed. It certainly would have to be one of the possibilities that’s looked at, as well as the usual range of possibilities. It could be one of a hundred possibilities that could be looked at, and this is a new one that’s been added on in the last several weeks. The FBI and police have to be looking at every possible motive, every possible target.”

Is the tea party party running out of steam?

Obama's (Wall) Street cred

Interview with POLITICO's Seung Min Kim

What do you want to hear from President Obama in his speech to Wall Street on Thursday?

I'll tell you what I don't want to hear. I don't want him to take cheap shots at Wall Street and banks. I would want him to show constructive reforms and not talk about bank taxes. And really just lay off the cheap shots. I'm with Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg on this. Financial services is the economic engine that drives New York, just like the auto industry in Michigan or the energy industry in Texas.
How should the president address the Goldman Sachs charges in his speech on Thursday, and are those charges a boost for his financial reform push?

It may get support from the public, but its very shortsighted. Again, certain specific reforms, let's consider them. But demonizing the industry, imposing taxes on them; its damaging to the country, damaging to the economy, damaging to New York.

The charges can cause people to focus on the fact that he received $1 million from Goldman Sachs. It raises real questions about his very close relationship with Goldman Sachs and why they invested their money in him.

The president said in a CNBC interview that it wasn't a big deal. So do you disagree?

I can see why the president wants to ignore it. I don't think the people will ignore it [Obama] should watch what he says.
What are the chances of bipartisanship on financial reform?

I would like to get a bipartisan bill but my concern is what's important for New York.

There was too much recklessness by Wall Street, certainly for the last 10 years or so but we don't want to go to demonizing the industry.

If the president and Democrats are willing to pull back from the cheap shots, we can see an opportunity.

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